Funkhaus Nalepastraße

The architecture of the Stalin era is pompous. The new buildings in the GDR were not intended to be reminiscent of modernism, but of historical styles such as classicism. The ultimate example is the "workers' palaces" of the 1950s in Berlin's Stalinallee, now Karl-Marx-Allee.
At the same time, however, something completely different was being built just a few kilometres away. On Nalepastrasse in Oberschöneweide, the architect Franz Ehrlich created the Funkhaus, a work entirely in the modern, functional style of the Neue Sachlichkeit.

Experience it for yourself, for example on a guided tour through the original recording studios and recording rooms of the Funkhaus in Oberschöneweide. Enjoy a coffee in the authentic seventies charm of the Milchbar. And if the weather is nice, the Funkhaus is the perfect starting point for a walk along the Spree and towards Plänterwald.

The SED loses the House of Broadcasting

In 1950, the GDR urgently needed a modern and functional broadcasting centre. Until then, the SED-controlled media had been broadcasting from the Haus des Rundfunks in Charlottenburg. But Charlottenburg was in the British sector. After the Berlin blockade and the division of Germany, the Western Allies no longer accepted the enemy station in their occupied territory.
The GDR State Broadcasting Committee commissioned Franz Ehrlich to design a new building. The architect Ehrlich, who had been a communist in the Buchenwald concentration camp, was a former Bauhaus student with modern ideas about architecture. In Oberschöneweide, they became reality in the years 1951-1956.

From ammunition box factory to masterpiece

The new Funkhaus is a complex of numerous individual buildings, which Ehrlich connects with each other via bridges. The dominant structure and eye-catcher is the nine-storey administration tower. You can also see it from Plänterwald on the opposite side of the Spree.

Do you see the vertical sandstone reinforcements? They are not structural, but only support the visual effect of the building. The so-called Block A of the broadcasting centre directly adjoins the administration tower.

The special feature:The steel skeleton structure already existed as part of a wood processing factory and served as a factory for ammunition boxes during the Second World War. By using the existing substance, supplemented by a new brick façade and the interior fittings, full broadcasting operations were able to begin here as early as 1952.

Like the façade, the interiors are also kept functional. Block A houses the announcer and studio rooms, rehearsal rooms and switchgear. Apart from exceptions such as Ehrlich's Bauhaus-style desk, hardly any original furnishings have been preserved here. The real showpiece of the Funkhaus can be found elsewhere.

A total work of art: Block B of the Funkhaus

The interior of Block B is not to be missed. Ehrlich, in collaboration with sound engineer Gerhard Probst, orientated himself on the most modern means of construction. The recording rooms and radio play complexes are trapezoidal in shape to better emphasise the acoustics.
In order to avoid sound transmission, the architect also used a house-in-house construction: All recording rooms have separate walls and even their own foundations.

In the representative recording rooms, Ehrlich does not completely dispense with the neoclassical fashion of the 1950s. But here, too, he adapts the form to the function. You can see this particularly well in the large recording hall: Numerous visual elements support the acoustics:

The foyers are flooded with light thanks to the large window areas. Pay attention to the columns too. With their black plaster and red finish, they avoid being too close to their classical counterparts.

A journey through time into the marvellous world of technology

It is not only the architecture in Block B that has been largely preserved in its original state. The original equipment is also fascinating. When Ehrlich designed the Funkhaus Nalepastraße, it was not yet possible to produce sounds by technical means. The radio play studios are therefore full of elements that authentically evoke everyday sounds:

• Doors that slam
• A staircase with wooden, carpeted and stone flooring
• Gravel floors
• Cracking floorboards

However, the Funkhaus also hides an electronic secret. In the early 1960s, GDR sound engineers were working on a completely new electronic musical instrument. It could produce sounds that do not occur in nature. And they were indeed successful: in very small numbers, they developed the subharchord, an early forerunner of electronic music.
However, the subharchord was not a resounding success. The SED had little interest in experimental music. The Subharchord fell into oblivion and soon nobody believed that the instrument really existed.

It took the determination of music historian Manfred Miersch to rediscover this special instrument. After years of searching, he finds what he is looking for - a genuine Subharchord in a chamber of the Nalepastraße broadcasting centre. Minor faults are quickly repaired and Miersch is able to play the instrument.

Today, this milestone in the history of electronic music can be found in the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin.

The voice of the GDR

Within a few years, a small radio town is created on Nalepastrasse.
The programmes broadcast from here:

• DDR 1 and DDR 2 as nationwide information, entertainment and educational programmes
• "Stimme der DDR" as a propaganda station for the Federal Republic
• Radio Berlin International for foreign-language countries
• Berliner Rundfunk for East Berlin
• DT64 as the GDR's youth radio station

The fall of communism

When the GDR collapsed, its radio no longer had a future either. In 1991, the stations ceased operations. A few uses for radio play recordings followed, but the building has been empty since 1995. The Senate sells the site and the owners change frequently. In 2011, the Berlin Court of Appeal even convicted one of the previous owners of fraud.

However, since investor Uwe Fabich took over the complex in 2015, Funkhaus Nalepastraße has once again become a music centre. In 2017, Depeche Mode presented their new album here, and a year later the Funkhaus hosted the People Festival with 200 musicians from all over the world. International artists use the unique facility for their recordings.

Our tips about the Funkhaus Nalepastraße

You can register here funkhaus.events for the guided tours of the Funkhaus Nalepastraße complex. Book early, as the tours sell out quickly. You can also arrange individual tours with a group of ten or more people.
Take a relaxing break in the stylish Milchbar on the grounds and then take a trip to the Plänterwald on the other side of the Spree. There you can take another guided tour of a GDR relic: The Spreepark was once the only amusement park in the GDR.

Tickets for guided tours

Experience a canoe tour past the remains of the Spreepark Plänterwald, on to the Stralau peninsula and into Rummelsburg Bay.

Tickets for individual city tours

Practical tips from visitBerlin

The best way to get to the Funkhaus is to take tram line 21 to the Köpenicker Chaussee/Blockdammweg stop and walk a few minutes from there.
To explore the city, we recommend the Berlin WelcomeCard for local public transport.